Longtime APCO member Gary Allen, former editor and publisher of Dispatch Monthly magazine and 911 Dispatch website, died on Sunday, Oct. 11 after a battle with brain cancer.
Mr. Allen was 67.

He retired from the Berkeley (Calif.) Police Department after 20 years as a dispatcher, and had been a member of APCO since 1988.

Mr. Allen took over as editor of Dispatch Monthly in 1999, and later expanded it an online news site and 9-1-1 archive. His illness forced him to close the site this past April, and he later revealed it was due to being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“Gary was a familiar figure at APCO, NENA, and NAED navigator conferences, as an attendee, reporter, and occasional speaker at local dispatcher recognition ceremonies,” said Randall D. Larson of  9-1-1 magazine.com. “He was a frequent editorial contributor to 9-1-1 Magazine in the early 1990s and served as our associate editor during 1994-95.  But his dedication to the public safety dispatch profession most significantly resounded with the accumulated news, editorials, and vast storehouse of 9-1-1 and emergency communications historical data archived on the 911Dispatch website.  The tape library of 9-1-1 recordings and radio traffic he assembled and maintained on that site contained hundreds of tapes of 9-1-1 calls and public safety radio communications that have been invaluable to the training of dispatchers new and seasoned for many years. We hope to be able to preserve whatever we can of the content of his web site and maintain it in Gary’s honor.”

An avid fan of Apple stores, Mr. Allen traveled the world to attend the openings of Apple’s new stores. His love of all things Apple was chronicled in a story by Michael S. Rosenwald of  The Washington Post following his death.

“We in the public safety emergency communications community admired and remember Gary for his easy going manner, his articulation about the technical aspects of emergency communications, his ability to gather dispatch-relocated news and share it for the education of the profession, his splendid way with words, and his commitment to the profession,” Larson said. “He will be long remembered and greatly missed.”

Mr. Allen is survived by his wife Nancy, son Devin and two brothers, Jim and Bob Allen.